Consequences Of Eating Fast Food Research
Abstract
Today, most people prefer having a snack in a fast-food restaurant to cooking at home. However, it is evident that eating too much fast food leads to obesity for both children and adults, damaging the cardiovascular system and increasing the risk of getting osteoporosis. This assumption will be discussed in detail in the following research. The purpose of this study is to make it clear that fast food is a dangerous invention of the humanity that leads not only to a variety of diseases, but also to early death. In fact, a person with healthy eating habits can live more than a hundred years, but in today’s fast moving world people have to cope with numerous problems every day, forgetting about a healthy lifestyle.Consequences Of Eating Fast Food Research
Keywords: fast food, obesity, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, early death..
Introduction
The following research investigates the consequences of eating unhealthy food, mainly fast food. It is aimed at making it clear that fast food can lead to numerous health problems, including osteoporosis, obesity and cardiovascular disease. It concerns both adults and children as will be discussed below. The research is based on the existing studies on the issue of unhealthy eating. Some recommendations concerning eating habits will also be given.
Background
- High-calorie food vs. in-home meals
A study published in JAMA Pediatrics, 2013, proved that children and adults take in higher calories in fast food and other kinds of restaurants than at home. High intake of calories leads to various health problems, the most evident of which is obesity. This concerns adults and children alike. However, fast food is especially dangerous for children, as their organism is vulnerable to harmful substances. High intake of calories has long been known as a major cause of obesity as will be discussed below. It is also harmful for the cardiovascular system and bones leading to the development of osteoporosis. It especially concerns children, as their bones are still developing and need nutrition.Consequences Of Eating Fast Food Research
- Fast food as a cause of poor nutrition and poor health
When fast food oftentimes supersedes nutritious foods in one’s diet, it can lead to poor nutrition and poor health. In fact, fast food is among the most harmful products that should not be consumed in large quantities as this may result in severe health problems and lack of nutrition (Pereira et al, 2005). It is evident that people eat in order to live, but if a person is fond of fast food and eats unhealthy food in large amounts, it causes nothing but harm to his/her body system. That is why it is important to regulate eating habits and consume nutritious food. Furthermore, it has been proved that lack of nutrition affects not only the body system, but also the psychological and emotional state of a person. If a person consumes much fast food, he/she is likely to suffer from a feeling of constant tiredness apart from being vulnerable to various diseases.
Eating too much fast food can develop the following problems:
- Obesity for both children and adults
Fast food is known to be the key reason for the development of obesity among children and adults alike. Children are especially vulnerable to this disease as their body system is not yet developed to full extent. That is why it is important to control the eating habits of children, taking into account that children suffering from obesity are exposed to a number of other factors the consequences of which may be costly in terms of human and financial resources. This includes psychosocial problems such as social isolation and depression, cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis. Promotion of fast-food products among children is an arguable question. It should be noted that fast food is directly related to the problem of obesity. That is why parents should control the diet of their children in order to avoid serious health problems that their children might be faced with in future. In order to solve the problem of obesity among children, parents should pay attention to what their children eat and at the same time be a role model to their children by eating healthy themselves (Birch & Fisher, 2002).
- Damage of the cardiovascular system
It is known that high-fat food negatively affects the cardiovascular system of a person, while vitamin-rich products can prevent various negative effects. Contrary to common expectations, fast food has acute effects on the vascular reactivity (Kimm, 2001). Studies on this matter have shown that the damage of cardiovascular system is in most cases attributed to the type of food a person consumes. The consumption of high-fat and high-calorie products causes severe damage to the overall state of health of a person negatively affecting the functioning of heart and other organs. In this regard, it should be noted that cardiovascular disease is among the major causes of early death. That is why it is important to consume nutritious food and take care of one’s health to prevent the development of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, the functioning of cardiovascular system is also related to the weight of a person. A person suffering from overweight is more likely to get cardiovascular disease than a person with normal weight (Brownell & Liebman, 2001).Consequences Of Eating Fast Food Research
- Increased risk of getting osteoporosis
It is common knowledge that human bones are in need of physical exercises that would help maintain their density. One more factor stimulating the loss of bone mass is diet. If a person’s organism starts losing the bone mass, it tries to get the necessary chemical substances in the form of normal level of pH from minerals consumed by a person with food. The ferments facilitate the metabolic processes in the organism (Brownell & Liebman, 2001). In this regard, it should be noted that the priority is given to the pH level of blood. If this level is abnormal, the organism starts generating hormones and ferments, and this can threaten the bone system of a person. The above information proves that fast food consumption is the major cause of the development of osteoporosis that can be prevented by means of turning to a healthy lifestyle and changing eating habits. Osteoporosis is a serious disease associated with bone damage and leading to severe consequences.
Obesity
- How fast food affects the weights of children
Fast food has a negative influence on children and youth. Children are especially vulnerable to various kinds of diseases as their immune system is still developing. However, most fast foods are intended for children encouraging them to eat out. As proved by existing studies on this matter, children with energy imbalance are more likely to develop obesity in future (Wang & Lobstein, 2006). Energy imbalance among children equals to 2% which stands for 30 kilocalories a day (Wang & Lobstein, 2006). Such imbalance can be caused by eating chocolate cookies, a few French fries or half a bottle of soda. Even such small quantity is enough for a child to develop obesity over time. Eating out in fast-food restaurants is the major cause of obesity among children. That is why it is important to make children eat more healthy meals cooked at home.Consequences Of Eating Fast Food Research
- How fast food affects the weights of adults
As for obesity among adults, it is also caused mainly by unhealthy eating. Adults are known to be always busy and often have no time to care for what they eat. This makes adults drop at fast-food restaurant rather than eat some healthy snack. However, such unhealthy habits lead to the development of obesity. Fast food is the major cause of obesity, because it is added with numerous harmful substances that cause damage to the whole body system of a person, leading to obesity and other diseases. That is why it is important to take care of what one eats so as not to suffer from excessive weight.
- Several long-term health conditions related to obesity
Obesity is associated with a number of long-term health conditions. First, obesity leads to the damage of cardiovascular system encouraging the development of heart related diseases (Kimm, 2001). Second, it negatively affects liver as high-fat foods are harmful to this organ. Third, fast food negatively affects the psychosocial state of a person. If a person consumes a lot of fast food, it may provoke long-term depression and other psychological illnesses. Overall, all of the mentioned problems are not easy to deal with. For this reason, it is recommended to consume more in-home meals than eating out.
Cardiovascular system
Fast food meals directly affect the cardiovascular system causing long-term damage to heart and other organs. Cardiovascular diseases are among the major causes of early death. Most people do not realize that they cause harm to their bodies by eating unhealthy food. Insufficient knowledge on this matter results in the increased number of people suffering from cardiovascular disease among others.Consequences Of Eating Fast Food Research
- The role of cardiovascular system in the human body
Cardiovascular system plays an important role in the body of a person. First, it is directly related to the way one’s heart is functioning. Second, it deals with the proper circuit of blood within the body system. Third, it is responsible for exchange of oxygen within the body of a person. These are only the main functions of cardiovascular system, which is considered among the most vulnerable parts of one’s body. If not taken care of, damage of cardiovascular system can lead to long-term negative consequences and even death.
Fast food is the major factor negatively affecting the functioning of the cardiovascular system. If taken in large quantities, fast food may lead to the development of cardiovascular system, causing early aging of all organs, including heart. Fast food negatively affects the flow of blood in the organism. Consequently, this leads to difficult breathing and other unhealthy conditions.
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is directly related to the kind of food a person consumes on a daily basis. In this regard, fast food greatly affects the bones of a person as it does not contain enough nutritious substances. This leads to long-term damage of bones and consequently causes the development of osteoporosis.
- Excess sugar and fat weakens the bones
According to the study of Ron Zernike (2008), “excess sugar and fat could weaken the bones” (Zernike, 2008, p. 24). Consequently, weakening of bones leads to the development of osteoporosis. In fact, excess fat and sugar negatively affect the bones of a person in that they cause long-term damage resulting in various diseases including osteoporosis. It is of great importance to intake vitamin-rich foods in order to prevent the damage of bones and the development of associated diseases.Consequences Of Eating Fast Food Research
- The consequences of getting osteoporosis
If a person does not get enough minerals and other nutritious substances, the organism starts generating these substances from bones (Glanz, Basil, Maibach, Goldberg, & Snyder, 2005). And taking into account the fact that fast food lacks minerals and vitamins, it can result in the development of osteoporosis that has a number of severe consequences. First, osteoporosis leads to the long-term damage of bones. Second, osteoporosis is associated with constant pain in bones making the whole body of a person suffer. That is why it is important to eat healthy food that is rich in vitamins and minerals necessary for bones. It especially concerns children whose bones are still developing.
Conclusion
The majority of US citizens prefer eating out to cooking at home. That is why the number of overweight American citizens is growing day by day. Modern people are always in a hurry and have no extra time to eat healthy food. It makes them drop at the fast-food restaurants and have a quick snack that contains no vitamins or nutritious substances. All this leads to such diseases as cardiovascular disease, obesity and osteoporosis that have been discussed in the above research. It is clear that fast food negatively affects the whole body system leading to severe health problems.Consequences Of Eating Fast Food Research